


Clenched

by agok



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Graphic Descriptions of Injuries, Langst, M/M, Rescue Fic, Violence, aged up AU, angry keith, crying Keith, diplomatic lance, dont worry it's gonna be good, everyone is aged up about 7 years, idk they chill in bed which tbh... a dream, intimacy?, klangst, lance gets beat up a little, mature lance and keith who are in a committed relationship, protective keith, scared lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-19
Updated: 2017-07-28
Packaged: 2018-10-08 01:22:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10374654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agok/pseuds/agok
Summary: A diplomatic mission gone wrong leaves Lance in a more than vulnerable position. Keith would pretty much rip the universe in half with his bare hands to make sure that Lance got home to him safe.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> guess who has poor impulse control and started another fic? this gal!!! this is multi chapter

It was supposed to be a normal day, Lance had been sent on a simple solo diplomatic mission, and everyone else was out on their own business. Now that Lance had grown into his charm and people skills, and trained under Allura for a while, he had come out of his teens and into his mid twenties as one of Voltron's best diplomats. At times he rivaled even Allura's skill at reading and room and understanding the subtleties of alien etiquette. Which he liked to be smug about occasionally, but the teasing was all in fun. Their group dynamic had mellowed as everyone had aged, and Lance had settled happily into his new role in the team. He was still the blue paladin, and he still fought, but this was a specialization that made Lance feel important and valuable. At least that's what he had told Keith one late night after a mission. 

So they had sent Lance on a solo diplomatic mission, something the team had done about a million times before. It was important for them to have as many planets to be in alliance with them as possible. Although they had defeated Zarkon, the residual Galra colonies and rule had not been universally thrown off, and Voltron needed help. Which is why, although fighting Galra was still an important part of Voltron's job, getting allies was of equal concern. 

Today though, Shiro, Pidge and Hunk had gone out to investigate some claims of Galra trouble on the edge of the galaxy and weren't planning to be back until late. The same was with Allura and Coran who had gone to a space mall with the intention of getting a few upgrades for the castle. 

They all felt relatively comfortable being away from the castle and each other, Zarkon's forces were not defeated yet, but much weaker. The urgency and constant panic had faded since they first formed the team, the bond with their lions had only gotten stronger as well as their skill in maneuvering them, which meant that they could spilt up more often. Despite all their gained confidence, one person in the castle was a must, and Allura still was the only one that could open word holes the rest of Voltron knew enough to at least pilot the castle out of the bad situation if they were forced. Keith had been assigned to stay with the castle and wait for Lance's return. 

Which brought Keith to his current concern, the Castle of Lions floated a long while off from the planet Lance was negotiating with, he knew a satellite floated in the orbit of the planet itself that the inhabitants had set up. That's where Lance was, negotiating and trying to convince the Elurnian people that in siding with Voltron, the benefits would far outweigh the detriments. The only actual problem was, Lance hadn't done his customary check in over the coms, and when Keith tried to contact him it went to static. 

Which meant one of two things, Lance had turned off his communicator, unlikely, or something bad had happened. Which was also pretty unlikely with how things had gone so far but still a bigger possibility. 

Keith tried tried to contact him again, pressing the button that allowed him to call Lance with a little more force than necessary. 

"Lance? Lance? Come in Lance," He tried raising his voice, trying to account for if something had gone wrong with the volume, but nothing happened. No response. 

Nothing.

Keith paced around the control room, they were all pretty much adults and had been through a little too much at this point in the fight against Zarkon to pull pranks like this, which mean this was a real problem. 

"If this is just some bullshit miscommunication I'm going to be pissed," Keith muttered, calling Allura and Coran instead of trying Lance again. 

If Keith got static one more time he would would get worked up enough to do something rash. And he really didn't want to fuck up a planet for possibly no reason. Especially if Lance was fine, who would laugh at Keith's concern, and probably call him cute if it turned out he was overreacting. Which Keith didn't mind but, it would be a little embarrassing. 

The Elurnian people had requested only one paladin, which didn't sound that bad, the lions could be intimidating at first, and the whole team wasn't as well versed in diplomacy as Lance. But now that Keith mulled it over he realized that it probably put Lance at more risk than necessary. Not that Lance couldn't handle himself, but. Shit happened. Especially when you're fighting an empire that has been established for about a hundred times longer than Keith could ever hope to live. 

Allura responded, "Keith? What do you need?" She asked, her voice sounding cheery. Allura never missed an opportunity to get off the castle and shop, Keith thought she used it as a distraction, but who was he to judge. They had been through a lot these past years. 

"Allura, I just tried calling Lance and he's not responding. Can you try to contact him?" Keith said, scrubbing a hand over his face. 

"Sure," Allura said, her voice a little slower and less bouncy, obviously catching on that something was wrong. "I'll try calling him, and I'll call you back in a minute." 

Just like that the communicator clicked off and Keith was left by himself again. He felt anxious. Keith activated his bayard absently and gave it a few swings falling into his training, trying to convince himself it was nothing, a false alarm. Obviously Lance had forgotten to call because things were going so well. The routine was comforting, but his thoughts remained unreassuring. Keith couldn't quite quell the overwhelming feeling of worry. He and Lance had gotten closer over the years, going from rivals, to friends, to where they were now, dating. 

Keith communicator suddenly clicked on and Allura's voice was in his ear again. "I can't reach him either, but an accident may have happened. Keith, try contacting the planet, I don't think they'll mind." 

"Okay, I'll keep you updated," Keith said, turning his communicator off and focusing his attention on the ships controls.

They had called the leader of the planet before sending Lance off to meet them. All Keith had to do was choose the same server and he should be able to connect with the leader. 

Keith did exactly that, and waited, and suddenly the holo-screen was filled with a horrifying scene. Far different than the pleasant room and the neutral face of the Elurnian leader that had been there the last time.

Instead, Lance sat strained on the floor in some nondescript room surrounded by a few Elurnian guards and the leader the team had spoke with earlier. Lance's armor had been stripped off of him, leaving him in only his underwear and the shirt that he wore underneath. He looked more than worse for wear, his legs showing signs of early bruising, one arm sat limp and unnaturally positioned, and his mouth and nose were covered in blood. Lance's hands were bound behind him, and his legs were also tied, leaving him prone and unable to fight back against the abuse. Despite this Lance looked pissed off, something Keith didn't expect. Keith thought Lance would be asking for mercy, or curling away from the guards but instead Lance was looking from one guard to the next, baring his teeth and demanding to be set free. 

If Keith didn't know Lance better he wouldn't have caught the tremor of fear underlying his snarky shouts. Except he did, and Lance was actually scared. Keith was almost too shocked to respond to what he saw. 

The Elurnian leader stepped towards the camera and grinned with all three of their mouths. The Elurnian people were large to begin with, their average height starting at what seemed like eight feet, but the guards surpassed that easily. They had an hard exoskeleton from what Keith could tell from this video feed and the last one, and multiple limbs lining their body. Their mouth stacked one on top of the other on their triangular head was intimidating enough without the sharp pincers that accompanied it. 

Keith felt a jolt of anger flow through him, they had done this to Lance, as if his mind was catching up to the scene in front of him. Lance of all fucking people, who made bad puns, who had gotten Keith a present on their half-anniversary, who generally wanted the best for everyone. Why?

"You've finally noticed your blue paladin is missing." The leader said, and despite the relatively monotone of their voice Keith almost swore heard a hint of smugness. 

"Untie him immediately," Keith demanded. Keith was more than angry, the way that Lance cowered a little as one of the guards nudged him with a foot was more than enough to tempt Keith into hopping into Red to fuck up their entire planet at that instant. 

"I'm afraid I can't, we've made a deal with the Galra, and his information and his lion are a little too valuable to be returned." The leader turned, his back facing Keith. 

Lance struggled against his bonds as the leader approached him, and Keith's fists clenched hard enough to turn his knuckles white and for his nails to leave tiny red crescents on his palm. The leader pinched Lance's chin with one of his hands and forced Lance to look at Keith. 

Lance's eyes immediately widened as if he just noticed the video stream, "Keith! Don't come, I'm begging don't leave the castle, I can handle it until someone else comes, plea-" 

Lance's desperate plea was in sharp contrast to his mouthing off to the guards moments before, which only confirmed that his bravado was an act. Lance was cut off by a quick kick to his side, which left him whimpering in pain, and curling in on himself for a moment. Keith shouted in protest. 

"He's being rather difficult about the secrets of Voltron," The leader sneered, letting go of Lance's chin as the paladin retracted in on himself. 

Keith growled at the violence, "What's stopping me from going over there and getting Lance and destroying your satellite?" Keith threatened, eyebrows drawn tight. 

"He may not have said much, but one thing he did let slip as he was blathering on earlier is that there was only one person left at your base. Which seemed like the perfect opportunity to try and twist some information out of him. The other paladins are out, and you can't leave the castle unmanned, which leaves us enough time to get the information we need and hand off the blue lion to the next Galra ship to swing by." The leader said, his four sets of arms tapped their versions of fingers together. There was definitely a hint of smugness, which only set Keith off further. 

"Why would you do this? We thought you wanted Voltron for an ally?" Keith was grasping at straws, because the Elurnian leader was right, he couldn't leave the castle alone. Maybe he could keep him talking until the others got back. 

"The Galra offered a price for the lions and information about what planets and people are aligned with Voltron. A very high price." The leader said, and before Keith could threaten anymore the video feed cut out. 

For a minute the only thing Keith could do was clench his teeth, he was so angry, so fucking scared for Lance that he felt paralyzed. Diplomatic missions were supposed to be safe, and Lance already had too many scars. 

Finally he called back Allura, and before she could say anything he was gritting out what happened. 

Allura's voice turned hard, "We can't let the Galra take Lance or the blue lion. I'll tell the rest of the team, but even if we hurry we won't be back until later."

She paused, obviously trying to figure out what to do. 

"Keith you'll need to set up a shield around the castle. You'll only be able to get out but not back in, but I'll be able to disable it once I get there. I hate to leave it unmanned, but I hate leaving Lance there more." 

Allura quickly relayed how to set up the barrier, and Keith followed along with her, anxious to be able to rescue Lance, and kick a hole in the head of the leader. 

As soon as the barrier was up, and the ship was piloted to the orbit a nearby planet so it wouldn't drift off, Keith was suiting up. 

Hopefully Lance could hold on a little longer, Keith thought stepping into his lion and scrabbling at the controls in his haste. Red seemed as ready to go as he did and suddenly they were blasting off towards the planet. 

Keith was going to get Lance home and safe if it was the last thing he fucking did.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if it's kinda short shits gonna get real next time

The video call had ended, and Lance felt his stomach drop as the leader, whose name he found out was T'xxiri, faced him once more, but instead of addressing Lance he looked to the two guards and made a motion with one of his appendages that the guards took to mean as continue. Lance bared his teeth at the guards whose turned their focus back on him. 

Another round of the fun game 'ask Lance questions and then torture him' seemed like it was about to start. 

"Where are Voltron's allied bases located?" The guard to the right of Lance asked, already raising one of his arms threateningly. 

"If you don't let me go you're going to be in a world of hurt soon," Lance said in response, he hoped they could send someone to him soon. The guard swung his arm down to smash into Lance's face, and all Lance could do was brace for the impact. 

It was explosive pain, the guard had hit the right side of his face, and his chitinous exoskeleton cut into the flesh of Lance's cheek. Lance let out a ragged gasp in response but steeled himself. 

"That's all you got?" He asked, batting his eyelashes at the guard after recovering.

So it continued like that, question after question, hit after hit, until the leader came back into the room. 

"Take him to the lower levels," T'xxiri ordered, "Maybe some time to sit and think will change his tune."

The guards cut Lance's arms and legs free, but despite how angry he was earlier, a lot of the fight had been drained out of him with the realization that nobody would be coming for a while. They couldn't, and Lance couldn't ask them to risk the castle just for him.

Next the guards forced Lance to stumble down three flights of stairs on shaky legs, clutching his limp arm. It felt broken, and Lance couldn't move it, but he hoped that he was just being over dramatic. A broken arm, not to mention the other aches and pains that were inflicted wasn't good, especially if he wasn't going to be rescued for an indeterminate amount of time.  
Their terrible little group finally made it their apparent destination. The door slid open to a dim room, and the guards tossed him in. 

Lance groaned as he hit the floor, his head colliding painfully with the metal. He struggled to sit, bracing himself against the wall. The room was quiet, they hadn't thrown him to some beast or droid that would kill him, so Lance felt safe enough to at least take stock of what had happened in the last few hours. 

Everything had started off routinely, Lance had landed his lion on the satellite, put up the shield around it and was greeted by T'xxiri and a few diplomats of their own. It was nice at first, Lance hadn't suspected a thing. The diplomats and him talked about the politics of the planet, something that Lance was proud that he would pretty much improvise on, and then they had offered him a drink and he'd foolishly accepted. 

Lance groaned as he adjusted his arm, his mind felt foggy, but the pain was sharp and clear. They must have drugged the drink, because a few minutes Lance had collapsed. When he had woken up with his comm gone and his arms and legs bound in a cramped room, Lance knew something was desperately wrong. The questions started next, and subsequently the beating. When they twisted his arm so far back that Lance saw stars, he hoped that someone, anyone, had noticed he was gone. Thank quiznak for Keith, calling in, at least now the team knew something was wrong. It didn't make the aches or pains go away, but that fear of being left with the Elurnians disappeared. But, there was still other things to worry about, and the aches and pains were certainly still there. Of course, with the way Lance kept antagonizing the Elurnians, he realized that maybe if laid off he would be in better shape.

Telling the leader to eat his ass may have been excessive. But damn if it didn't feel good after they kneed him in the face for not answering a question about who had allied with Voltron. Lance would be as fucking petty as he needed to in order to keep going.

"Fuck," he groaned, his arm shifted again. He really hoped that Keith had called the others, and they were heading back to the castle. Hopefully they would regroup and then go to get him. It would take a while, he knew, and he would probably be transferred to a Galra ship in the time it took for them to get to this planet, but it was something. He felt severed from the team without him comm, unable to call for help or know what was going on outside the dim room. 

For the first time, Lance let himself feel genuinely scared. Before he had been pushing it down, fighting against the guards and trying to subtly figure out how to escape. But now, locked in this cold, dark room alone with no one to resist, Lance felt terrified. He wanted Keith. Actually he wanted anyone from the team, but Keith especially. Lance realized tears were welling up in his eyes. 

Lance recoiled, now was not the time for fear or longing or whatever the fuck was going on, he struggled up on his feet, panting with the effort. He had been captured by an enemy, now was the time to fucking rescue himself. 

Lance was pissed now, here he was trapped in a satellite on a fucking peaceful diplomatic meeting after being drugged and beaten. Lance slammed his foot against the panel on the door and shouted. It hurt, his entire leg ached with the effort. Lance bitterly thought back to the way that the guard had stepped on his leg, not enough to break but enough that bruises were already forming, taking place among his scars from past missions. 

Despite his kick the door remained steadfast and Lance decided with a wry smile that maybe physically breaking out wasn't that good an idea. He never had been able to summon blue, but now seemed as good as time as any. So Lance hunkered down and called out to blue. 

____________

The waiting was the worst, red flew fast, the fastest of all the lions but it still felt like an unbearable amount of time. Any moment could be another hit that Lance took, or the Galra getting closer to the blue lion, and Keith couldn't risk either of those. 

Red seemed to thrum underneath him, sensing his worry and in turn seemed just as riled as her pilot. Keith didn't know if the lions themselves could communicate to each other, and Red was picking up distress from Blue or if it was just from him, they the lion flew what felt like faster than it ever did before. 

"Keith, where are you?" Shiro's voice barked in his ear. 

"I'm heading to Lance, a planet in the third quadrant, there's a satellite," Keith replied keeping his eyes on the tiny spec in the distance which was the planet. Far stars seemed to slip by as smudges of light, Keith was wholly focused. 

"Alright, Pidge, Hunk and I are on our way back to the castle. Once we get there we'll let you know." Shiro said, his voice was serious concern for Lance weighing it down. "We'll start for the planet once we get back." 

Keith made an affirmative grunt, "Alright I'm sending you the coordinates, Allura caught you up?"

The spec grew larger, and enough details emerged that Keith could see the tiny satellite orbiting the planet. Lance was in there somewhere and Keith was going to get him away and safe. 

"Yes, good luck," Shiro said, before the comm shut off. 

It still came as a bit of a shock that a planet that Lance was visiting as a diplomat had done something like this, but Keith could only imagine the price on any one of the paladin's head. It only made him angrier, it was low to do something like this. Even for Galra. 

Finally the planet came into full view and Keith knew where he was headed. The satellite reminded him of a base, there was a huge ship bay which was where Blue probably was. But first he needed Lance. 

Keith didn't even bother activating his cloaking device on his lion, he wanted them to know he was here. He wanted them to be afraid. Keith sidled his lion up to the side of satellite, but there hadn't been any defensive measures taken against him as he approached. If they hadn't noticed him before, they would now, Keith thought, letting a paw of the lion to drag along the side of the satellite tearing open the metal siding and sending sparks flying into the openness of space. 

He landed Red outside the hole he had torn and quickly climbed out, putting the barrier up behind him. He be wouldn't long. 

The halls were almost empty and Keith ran through them recklessly. At this point he had broken almost every rule of fighting an enemy, but he couldn't bring himself to care. 

As he ran into a group of guards he activated his bayard and cut them down easily, he didn't have time to mess around. Diving headfirst instead of thinking strategically had its pitfalls, the plan had a short expiration and if he didn't find Lance soon things could and would fall apart. 

The base wasn't incredibly big, but finding Lance wouldn't be easy by any means. 

_______________

Lance gasped as the floor shook beneath him, and alarms began to blare in the hallway outside the door. Maybe he had summoned Blue, Lance felt hopeful, but that was soon replaced by fear when he heard a dozen footfalls outside his door. The door slide open, and leader accompanied by different guards than before stood outside. The guards hauled Lance up by his tshirt so he was level with T'xxiri. 

"What is attacking us? They couldn't have sent someone for you already!" The leader growled in his face. Lance could hear the undercurrent of fear in the leader's voice, and the entire satellite shook again, making the lights in the hallway dim and brighten again in a second and the Elurnian loose their footing. 

If it was attacking from outside, Lance realized, it couldn't be Blue. They would be forcing him to call her off, not asking what was attacking the satellite. Which could only mean one thing. 

Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading all mistakes are mine


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i,,, don't know how i feel about this chapter but pls take it

Keith had come for him, and two emotions flooded Lance. Pure elation, followed by a very visceral fear. If Keith was here, no one was on the castle, he had done exactly what Lance had told him not to. 

Figures. 

Keith, despite the years, was still impulsive and a bit of a loner when it came to missions. But Lance couldn't exactly blame him, he would be rushing off to save Keith if the same thing happened to him. 

Lance's lack of response only seemed to infuriate T'xxiri more. He order the guards to take Lance up to the room that he had taken the first video call in, and to have four more guards join them. The two guards nodded, and hauled Lance along, not reacting to his cry of pain when they grabbed his injured arm. 

"Let me go! He will tear through this satellite like it's nothing!" Lance called back to T'xxiri, his voice strained. 

T'xxiri turned away from Lance and walked off, obviously not taking Lance's warning to heart. Or whatever the Elurians had for hearts. 

The walk up the stairs was even harder than the walk down, Lance felt his strength flagging. His movements became uncoordinated and the guards started to become irritated by his constant stumbling. They passed close to where the ship bay was and Lance tried to call for Blue one more time in vain. 

Finally, they made it to the room where T'xxiri had taken their first call, the first notion of peace. The room was as nice as Lance remember it from the background, foreign but obviously modern. At lot nicer than where they had him before. The walls seemed thicker as well, and Lance realized that this was probably the most protected room on the base. The guards went on, dragging Lance in behind them, they had picked up a few more guards along the way so the total count was up to six. 

Six verses Keith and a very injured Lance didn't seem like great odds. 

Then again the had done fine with worse ones, so Lance tried to stay optimistic. 

The guards had deposited him on the floor and now they mostly huddled around the door, trying to prepare for when Keith almost inevitably busted through. Lance looked around the space for something, anything to use as a weapon or to balance his odds, taking the opportunity as the guards were distracted. 

There was a containment box in the corner of the room, Lance quietly scooted towards it, careful not to make any noise. It was slow going but he was finally able to make it. The unit much like a chest, except the lid was a sort of clear material that you could see through. Lance immediately recognized his uniform and bayard, thrown in carelessly. He tried to lift the top, but it wouldn't budge and Lance didn't want to risk another beating to attempt to prying it open. 

Instead Lance crawled back to where he was and waited, he would bide his time until Keith came and then these Elurnian fucks would regret kidnapping him. 

__________________

Going through the base was almost embarrassingly easy, Keith didn't know what these people expected when they kidnapped Lance but they obviously weren't prepared for him. Every patrol of guards startled in surprise when they saw him, and were even slower to fight leaving Keith with an obvious advantage. 

Lance's helmet, like all the paladins, had a small tracking device on it, which was what Keith was following. He knew that Lance and his armor were currently separated, but checking every room on the base wasn't an option, and the clothes would be a good start. 

Finally, Keith was drawing closer. It seemed as if the armor and helmet were sealed inside a room, the door closed tightly. Keith have to door a solid kick, trying to test its material to see if he could just cut through with his bayard but the metal was hard and thick. Keith looked to the control panel next, pulling out a little device that Pidge and Hunk had made and gave to the team. After a few connected wires, Keith smirked as the door panel turned a light blue instead of orange of before and opened to reveal a legion of guards. 

Oh quiznak. 

They were lunging for him before Keith could even take his hands away from the door panel.

Keith was tackled onto the ground so hard the air felt like it was ripped from his chest. Elurnians weren't small by any means, or light. Keith struggled on the ground with three pining him before he could reach and activate his bayard, sending it through the chest of one, making the other two recoil in surprise. Lance took this opportunity to cut them down as well, before facing the other three. They ran for him, and he slashed catching an arm and sending it skittering across the floor. The guard screeched in pain but continued to charge.

Ultimately Keith made short work of them, determined now that he knew that Lance's clothes were in there. Obviously something valuable had to be for that many guards to be on post. 

"Keith," a weak voice called out to him from inside the room, and Keith spun to look for its source. 

Lance was sitting on the floor, face crusted with dried blood, two tear tracks tore through the red, and Keith was immediately rushing to Lance's side. 

"Are you okay? What happened? What's hurt? Where's Blue?" Keith asked all at once, and Lance blinked slowly. 

"My arm," He finally croaked, and Keith noticed that one of Lance's arm sat in unnaturally painful position. 

"Do you mind if I..." Keith asked his hands hovering over Lance's arm waiting for permission. 

Lance gave a short nod and Keith gently felt up and down the arm searching for what was wrong. He could do a splint if he needed, but Lance having both his arms was crucial to flying the blue lion home. Keith reached Lance's shoulder and realized there was a gap where bone should have been, and Lance sucked in a breath when Keith pressed a little harder. 

"Is it broken?" Lance asked, his voice sounding very small. 

Keith shook his head, "Nothing like that, just dislocated. I'm going to need to pop it back in, alright?" 

Lance nodded again, and braced himself and Keith gave one hard shove and the arm snapped back into place. Lance grit his teeth but didn't let a sound slip out of him. 

"Feeling a little better?" Keith asked, smiling and hoping that Lance would smile back. 

He did, Lance never disappointed Keith. It was watery and crooked but still a smile. 

Keith helped Lance up, letting him lean heavily on Keith's shoulder. After heaving himself up, Lance pointed to the box in the corner. 

"My uniform and bayard," He grunted, and Keith was setting him right back down to go inspect the box. It had a lock, but with a sharp hit from his bayard the lid sprung open and Keith gathered the uniform in his arms. 

Keith offered the uniform to Lance but Lance shook his head, "We need to go before T'xxiri gets back."

So Keith lifted Lance again and together they hobbled out, Keith carrying the majority of Lance's weight as the other fought for control over his own limbs. Keith was worried about how limp Lance felt pressed against him, he hoped the healing pod back at the castle would be able to sew together Lance's face and the tendons and ligaments in his arm, and heal his bruises. 

"C'mon, stay with me, partner. Do you know where Blue is?" Keith said hoping the pet name would be enough to keep Lance focused and awake. Keith knew that Lance's injuries must be aching, and any internal damage that could be slowing him down was unknown. 

Lance pointed down a hallway and Keith followed, hoping he wasn't jostling Lance too much. Finally they reached the end and just a door stood between them and the ship bay. Keith immediately hooked up the device he had used earlier and waited for the door to slide open, but he wasn't fast enough. They were cornered suddnely by an alien.

"You couldn't have just slay my guards and steal my prize without expecting my resistance." The leader said from the end of the hall, raising a long staff to challenge Keith. Lance shuddered at the voice, and Keith felt anger rip through him again. The urge to just tear the alien apart was more than present, but he wouldn't fight if he didn't have to, getting Lance home safe was priority. 

Keith stole a quick glance at the access panel on the door, but it had not turned to a cool blue yet, he turned back to who he assumed was T'xxiri. Keith laid Lance gently on the ground and activated his own bayard. Lance groaned weakly, but he stayed in a crouched position instead of collapsing to the ground with was soothing. Now, it was time to fight. 

Keith made the first move, running down the hall making quick slashes but almost every one was blocked or bounced of the alien's exoskeleton. The staff dealt one quick blow to Keith's stomach and Keith was on the ground, but pulling himself up within seconds. 

They fought, exchanging blows and dodging but T'xxiri was good, pushing Keith back, closer and closer to Lance. It came as a complete relief when the door panel turned blue and it slid open to reveal the blue lion, shield still intact, sitting in the ship bay. They hadn't moved her yet. 

"Run Lance!" Keith shouted, blocking a blow and holding T'xxiri back. Lance stood unsteadily and started to make his way to Blue in a slew of uncertainty steps. Keith was covering him, keeping the leader back but slowly letting himself be pushed towards the end of the hall. 

Finally, Lance climbed inside, and Keith made a final hit sending his sword into a gap in the chitin, making the leader recoil in pain before Keith grabbed the door opening device and dashed for the blue lion. She accepted him, and they were up and out of the ship bay and into open space. 

Keith looked to Lance who sat in his seat, barely awake but keeping the lion steady. He looked like hell, now that Keith could actually inspect him, bruises sat on his face, arms and legs, sickly and yellow as well as several lacerations. 

Lance looked to Keith with a weak smile, "Thanks." 

Keith bent over and kissed Lance gently, carefully not disturbing the cut on his face which had clotted. "Lets go home." 

"Do you need to get Red?" Lance asked, and Keith nodded. 

"Over on the other side," He directed and Lance went until they saw the red lion.

Lance hovered near the other lion, and Keith paused before he left. 

"Are you sure you're okay to fly back alone?" 

Lance nodded, "We can't leave the red lion." 

Keith reluctantly agreed, and returned to his lion. They flew home with relative radio silence, except for Shiro alerting them that they had made it back to the castle and everything was fine. 

Keith finally felt his anger and fear dissipate, but what was left in its place was heart-wrenching worry. Something was wrong with Lance, he had been groggy and unresponsive and although injury could do that it was unusual for the blue paladin to be so quiet. What was wrong with Lance?

Whatever happened, Keith hoped it could be sorted when they got home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank for playin


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> they get home and everything is kinda okay...sorta

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI !! i love taking breaks cause school is kicking My Entire Ass ! enjoy this hell chapter and thank u for the one person who left me that comment that made me pick this all back up....thank u also any mistakes are mine

The trip home brought even more worry. Lance flew tumultuously, speeding up and slowing down at random and even spinning out occasionally, only to have Keith and Red stabilize them moments later. 

"Lance!" Keith called as a warning as he had to dash out after Blue again as they spun out.

No response. A little bubble of agitation built in Keith's chest. 

"Lance! Are you sure you're okay, Lance?" Keith called out over the comms. 

"Huh? Oh, I can hold up until we get back," Lance assured him, voice cracking, and Keith saw Blue straighten out minimally. "C'mon Keith, I've been flying Blue for more than a couple years, relax." 

Keith wasn't convinced. Lance was never particularly good at lying, and just knowing that Lance was covered in bruises and cuts and whatever else in his system didn't particularly help his credibility. 

"Keith," His comm came to life again, "What your status? Have you gotten Lance?"

"Shiro, we're already on our way home, get a healing pod ready," Keith said back, his voice tight.

"Oh," came Shiro's clipped response. "How bad?"

"Dislocated shoulder, bruising, maybe some internal damage but he's still relatively coherent." Keith said, watching Blue get off balance again from his periphery. 

"Relatively coherent?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah, something's wrong with him, he seems drowsy. I think he may have been drugged, but I haven't asked any specifics. Even with all his injuries, he's still not as responsive as I would expect." Keith replied swinging Red over to Lance and Blue, and Shiro gave an affirmative grunt. "I don't want to overwhelm him." 

"Alright, call if you need backup. I'll get the healing pod ready." 

The comm cut out, and Keith was left to deal with Lance, and the worry knawing at his gut. 

________________

They made it to the castle in relatively good time, at some point Lance had agreed to just let Keith's lion tow him along so he didn't have to worry about steering. Keith finally tugged the blue lion into the castle's ship bay. 

Keith watched as the blue lion settled onto the floor of the castle with more accuracy and dexterity than Lance could put her down with in his current state. Blue must have taken control. Keith quickly landed Red and tore out of his seat to get to Lance. The sooner they could get Lance out, figure out what was wrong with him, was the sooner they could get him in the healing pod. 

It was a terrible echo of what happened when they were younger, and were new to the fight against the Galra. The worry that Keith had felt back then was barely anything compared to the thick feeling of dread when he climbed into the blue lion to see Lance passed out in his seat. Keith scrambled over, gently slapping his hand against Lance's face and calling his name, hoping to at least get him back to consciousness. 

There was no response from Lance, who remain slumped over in his seat. 

Keith drew in a deep breath and maneuvered Lance to pick him up, the sooner that Lance was in the healing pod the better, and then Keith could finally try and let himself relax. It had been more than a stressful day, and any semblance of things getting back on track would be more than welcome. 

Lance was difficult to situate in Keith's arms, his entire was body limp and noodle-like under Keith's grasp. Just as Lance'a lower half slid onto the floor Hunk's voice rang out. 

"Keith! What happened to Lance?" Before Keith could respond, Hunk was moving into the blue lion and scooping up Lance easily out of Keith's arms. 

The rest of the team wasn't far behind, Pidge and Coran huddled around Hunk as he carried Lance out of the lion and into the castle, buzzing with questions and worry about Lance's wellbeing. Shiro and Allura instead approached Keith.

"What happened?" Allura asked, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Keith furrowed his eyebrows, keeping his eyes focused on Hunk, Pidge, and Coran, not even sparing a glance at Allura. 

"The Elurnians are allied with the Galra, it was a trap to get the blue lion and Lance," Keith said quickly, before shrugging Allura's hand off and catching up to Hunk.

Shiro watched him go, debating the merits of stopping Keith to demand more information about what happened, but before he could Allura laid a hand on his forearm.

"Leave him be," She said, shaking her head. "We can ask him about it after Lance has been stabilized. Forcing him now would just agitate him."

Shiro reluctantly nodded his head. Allura was right. They would figure out what was wrong with Lance, put him in the healing pod, and once Keith had calmed down then they would figure out what was going on. 

The fact that a lion had almost been stolen and a perceived ally was actually with the Galra wasn't something they could afford to brush aside. 

_________________

Lance had been stripped out of his piloting suit carefully, and laid out on a padded table in the healing pod room. Coran had asked for what Keith knew, and when Keith had mentioned that he thought Lance had been drugged with something, Coran had been insistent that they make sure that it wasn't fatal; poison wasn't something the healing pod fix.

Pidge, Hunk, and Keith crowded around the table, anxiously inspecting Lance. In the bright light without distractions Keith took in the full extent of Lance's injuries. The bruises had started to bloom even darker than before on his legs and arms, and the blood that had been running down his nose earlier had clotted an dried. Overall, he looked more than worse for wear. He looked wrecked. 

Keith bit his lip, if only he had just come with Lance, someone else could have stayed at the castle. Or maybe if he got there earlier he could have saved Lance some of his pain. It was too late now, and Keith's failure laid out before him in the form of the cuts and bruises that littered Lance's limbs. 

He knew that what they were doing came with risks, and Lance was more than capable of looking out for himself, but Lance meant more than anything to Keith. Seeing him hurt when if Keith had been a little faster, or smarter, or better, Lance would have been fine didn't feel good. 

Coran drew a small sample of blood to be analyzed, and Keith looked away when the needle went in, closing his eyes shut. It was a minuscule hurt compared to the rest of the damage that had been done, but it was necessary. 

It had been a little while of anxious murmuring between Hunk and Pidge, when Lance regained some blurry form of consciousness. 

He groaned first, one of his hands going to clutch a deep purple bruise that had bloomed on his ribs. All the paladin's attention immediately went to him. Lance's eyes pried themselves open fractionally, flicking from Pidge to Hunk before they paused on Keith. 

"Hey buddy," Hunk said, gently grasping Lance's hand. "We're going to get you in a pod in a second. Soon as Coran comes back."

Lance nodded, "Great, I guess I'll see you guys in a couple of days then." 

Lance held Keith's gaze and grinned, showing off his teeth stained with blood. "Thanks," He said. 

Keith nodded, blinking back sudden tears, "No problem, partner." 

Coran came back, the blood sample held up triumphantly in his hands. 

"Not poison, simply a sedative that we can let run it's course in the healing pod." He chirped, "That's great news, there's a lot of nasty stuff out there poison-wise they could have used."

Lance let out a tiny whoop of victory, and flailed his hand in the approximation of a fist pump. He face clenched in pain the second he did, obviously one of his injuries getting to him. When Keith, Coran, Hunk and Pidge immediately surged around him, Lance waved them off. 

"I'm fine, just get me in the pod," he said.

Keith felt a little tension leave his body. Lance wasn't poisoned. They just had to put him in a pod, wait a few days, and he'd be good as new. They wouldn't make the mistake of letting Lance go alone again. 

Keith helped Lance off the table, and supported some of his weight as they walked to the nearest pod. They situated Lance into pod, Keith gave him a soft kiss, and then closed the seal over him. Coran programmed the chamber, and soon Lance's eyes slipped shut. 

"When will he be out?" Keith asked, looking to Coran. 

"Five days should have him back in order," Coran said, nodding to Keith. 

Five days wouldn't be that bad, Keith tried to convince him self, sparing the Lance one last glance before following Coran, Pidge and Hunk out. 

It had been a while since the last time anyone had to be put in the healing pod for an extended period of time, as the Galra weakened and the team became more competent with their lions the amount of life-threatening injuries dropped off. Ever since they had started dating Keith hadn't been without Lance for a day or two and now he had to bear it for five whole ones. 

 

The rest of the day passed in a kind of blur. Keith was grilled point by point about what happened when he rescued Lance, and Allura worm-holed them to a safer part of the universe just in case the Galra came sniffing around after their lost lion. Keith dutifully explained how everything happened to the rest of the team, trying to stay patient. 

Finally Hunk seemed to notice the weariness in Keith's face, and suggested that they wait till tomorrow for some of the questions. Allura and Shiro immediately backed off, and agreed, sending Keith off to his room to rest. 

Keith padded back to his room, tiredly sliding open the door and surveying the insides. Nothing had changed from the morning, it was still the standard bunk beds with a cot pushed up next to the bottom bunk, with the blankets rumpled. There will still Lance's pajamas thrown haphazardly on the floor from that morning, and Keith's jacket draped over one of the chairs. 

Lance and Keith's items mingling in their shared room only reminded Keith that Lance was stuck in the healing pod, not just in the bathroom brushing his teeth and getting ready for bed. Keith half-hearted went through his night time routine, showering, changing, and finally laying down to sleep. 

Sleep didn't come easy. 

The silence pressed down on him without Lance's measured breaths to break it, and there was too much room on the bed. It wasn't right. After tossing and turning for a while, Keith finally fell into a restless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> more 2 come i promise


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahah guess who fucking wrote this all in one night !!!!!!!!!!!!

It was three days into Lance's recovery in the healing pod and everyone was feeling the effects of his absence. Team meals were a lot quieter, they did fewer things together without Lance to round them up for a dumb game or movie night. Not mention they couldn't form Voltron with the Blue Lion's occupant locked in the pod. Needless to say the last couple days were tense. 

Lance was the glue of their team, the one who smoothed their rough edges and fit them all together. It may not have been that way when they were younger and newly formed, when he used to rile up Keith on purpose, but things had changed. As they grew Lance mellowed and he fell easily into the role of peacekeeper, his relaxed manner was not only good for diplomatic outreaches to new planets, but domestically as well. He was the person who could settle arguments and find compromises for tough decisions. 

So they all felt the lull in the conversation where Lance would have chimed in, and his complaining about training and a million other mannerisms. 

Pidge and Hunk had agreed, without Lance around there was something big missing from Voltron. 

There was also the matter of Keith. 

The day after Lance was put in the pod, Keith answered Shiro's questions as patiently as he could trying to relay every detail so he wouldn't be called upon to recount the experience again. It was still pretty raw for him. 

"So then you both escaped and came straight back to the castle, right?" Shiro asked, looking up from his holopad. He was diligently keeping records of every run-in they had with hostiles in the hope that they could learn from past mistakes. 

"Yes, like I've told you the last fourteen times," Keith spat using a little more force than necessary. 

Shiro didn't rise to his anger, simply raising an eyebrow at his behavior. Keith crossed his arms and looked at the floor. 

"I'm sorry," He muttered, "I didn't mean for it to come out like that."

His voice was quiet and vulnerable, stripped of any pride or aggression. 

"I understand this isn't easy for you," He sighed, looking to the general direction of the room that held the healing pods, mind drifting to Lance. "It's not easy on any of us." 

Keith nodded, still not meeting his eye. He obviously felt guilty about snapping at Shiro.

Keith had woke up on edge, barely said anything to Shiro at breakfast, and when Shiro had asked to do a full review of what had happened he halfheartedly agreed, if only to keep himself from restlessly pacing his room.

"You can go," He finally said and Keith was out of his chair in an instant. 

________________

Keith spent the majority of the day moping around the pod room, only coming out when Hunk reminded him of dinner and came to get him again when it was far past the time they all normally went to sleep. 

The pod room was bright compared to the hallway that was dimmed so the paladins could sleep. Keith sat on the floor, half slumped against the wall, dozing. 

"Keith?" Hunk said, voice rough with fatigue, as he peered into the room, "Why are you still down here?"

Keith jerked awake when he heard Hunk's voice, grasping at his bayard before seeing Hunk and slouching again. Hunk sighed, walking further into the room before crouching next to Keith. 

"Hey, it's time for you to head back to your room man. Don't worry about Lance, he's perfectly safe in the pod." Hunk assured him, offering a hand to help Keith up. 

Keith hesitated for a single moment before taking it and letting Hunk use his strength to haul them both into a standing position. As they walked back through the halls of the castle to the rooms Hunk twisted his pajama shirt around in his hand a little, it was weird to see Keith like this. Usually he was fiery and full of life and energy but, Hunk spared a glance to the hunched figure next to him, that certainly didn't describe Keith now.

They finally reached the hallway that all their rooms were attached to and Hunk took the liberty of walking Keith to his room. Just in case. The guy wasn't exactly focused. 

"Alright Keith," Hunk said, patting him on the shoulder. "I'll see you in the morning. Lance will be out soon and I'll make his favorite cookies and things will go back to normal." 

Keith nodded, which was encouraging, and gave Hunk and half-smile before retreating into his room. Hunk heaved a sigh of relief. He didn't really know what was up with Keith, it was one thing to be sad about Lance being in the pod and away for five days but this was something else. 

The next two days didn't really go any better, Keith was still stuck in a bad mood and the rest of the team could only stand by and watch him endure it. Not that they hadn't tried to cheer him up, or take his mind off of Lance, but his favorite activities like training and taking Red out barely managed to rouse him. The only thing that would hopefully make everything better was Lance's full recovery and release from the pod. But that was still two agonizing days away. 

On day four Allura had enough. 

Keith had been going through his routine of barely eat any breakfast, mumble answers to any of the rest of the teams attempts to engage him in conversation and then head down to healing pod room to sit and sulk until dinner rolled around. 

At breakfast, once Keith had left, Allura suddenly slammed his fist on the table, startling Coran, Hunk, Pidge and Shiro. 

"We can't just let him go on like this!" She exclaimed, "It's not healthy! It's not right! Someone needs to talk to him." 

Coran nodded sympathetically, but Pidge raised an eyebrow quizzically. 

"What do you suggest that we do Princess?" They asked, pointing their sport at her. 

"Talk to him, figure out what's wrong! At this rate even when Lance does get out of the pod I feel like nothing will change." She said back, looking to the other paladins for support. 

Hunk nodded, "I agree, there's definitely something more going on." 

"Alright, then it's up to us. I'll head down and talk to him." She said, rising from her seat to march down to the healing pod room. 

She found Keith absentmindedly going through the motions with his bayard, he deactivated it when he saw her enter. 

"Keith," Allura said, "We need to talk." 

Keith folded his arms and looked down. 

"About what?" 

"How you have been acting these past few days! I know you miss Lance and it was hard to see him hurt, but he'll be back tomorrow and all patched up, so we don't understand why you won't eat or talk to us." She said, walking towards him until they were only about a foot apart. 

There was a long stretch of silence, but Allura didn't mind the wait. She knew Keith was the type of person who needed time to collect his thoughts when it came to how he felt. 

"I-I," Keith stuttered out before shutting his mouth again. Allura waited patiently. 

When Keith finally spoke his voice was barely above and whisper, and it was the smallest Allura had ever heard him sound. She was used to him taking control, or shouting out suggestions and orders, not this. 

"It's my fault Lance got hurt," Keith said, Still refusing to look at Allura. "I made a dumb mistake of letting him go on that solo mission and I wasn't fast enough or smart enough to get him home safe." 

A tear rolled off of Keith's cheek and dripped onto the floor and he sniffed wet, and loud and messy. 

Allura's eyes widened and she immediately wrapped an arm around him. So he wasn't just worried about Lance, Keith honestly thought it was all his fault. Allura couldn't imagine the emotional weight he was forcing himself to bear alone. 

"That's not your fault Keith, you couldn't have known what was going to happen. None of us could have. If anything it's my fault for setting up the diplomatic meeting." Allura said, trying to comfort him. 

Keith only shook his head. 

"No, I'm supposed to be able to take care of him and protect him." Keith sniffed again, his hand coming up to scrub at his eyes. 

Allura pursed her lips, he just wasn't getting it. He was trying to take all the fault because of his guilt, even though he wasn't responsible. She would just have to be firmer. 

"Keith," She said, taking both of his shoulder and holding him at arms length and forcing him to meet her eyes. 

"This wasn't your fault. You did what you could and without you Lance would be a lot worse off than he is now." 

Keith's eyes widened and after a moment he nodded. 

"You understand?" Allura asked, wanting to clearly drive home her point. "You're a valuable member to this team and we all love you. It's torture to see you beat yourself up about this." 

Keith nodded again, and a tiny smile graced his face. 

Allura beamed at him. "Alright, c'mon let's get you to have a real breakfast," She said leading him out of the room. 

Keith let himself be pushed around, only glancing back at the room as they left it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for sticking with this story !! next time Lance emerges from his healing pod cocoon as a beautiful butterfly


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys, long time so see!! this is the last chapter!!!!! i hope it's enough and what you expected by now you guys should know i'm weak for that good hurt comfort shit...anyways! thanks for sticking with me, real life got in the way cause i recently graduated and then everything happened all at once hhhhh!! enjoy!!

Healing in the pod was like being asleep, except Lance couldn't wake up until the pod released him. Lance knew the feeling of blurry confusion and inability to focus that the pod caused when he was in it. He remembered it from the last time he was healing for a long period of time. It was good that the pod was set up like that, it gave his body time to heal without Lance's mind agonizing over what had hurt him. Things generally went smoother when Lance couldn't agonize over things. 

Except being in a constant dream state could be stressful, it allowed his mind to wander unabashed where he could usually just wake up to brush away unwelcome thoughts, now Lance had to wait them out. But it couldn't last forever. The pod would release him when it deemed he was back to full health.  
_____________

Keith felt better today. 

Lighter almost, not weighed down by his fears of inadequacy or inability to take care of his partner. What Allura had said the other day had helped a lot. He had down his best in a tough situation, and in the end Lance had come home safe enough that he could be healed up in a couple of days. 

Maybe it wasn't ideal in Keith's book, but it was leagues better than the worst case scenario. Even after all this time, Keith still had trouble finding his limits and curbing his impulsivity. 

It also helped that Lance would be out of the pod today, if Coran's estimates were any good. 

He hurried through the corridors to the kitchen, hoping to get a quick breakfast before spending the day in the healing pod room. The healing pods did tell you when they would release the person inside, and Keith wanted to be there when Lance stepped out. He knew how disorienting it was. 

As he stepped into the kitchen the rest of the team greeted him from their spots. Hunk was already standing and handing Keith a bowl of prepared breakfast. Keith accepted, a little surprised, and it must have shown on his face because immediately Hunk was explaining. 

"We figured you would wanna head straight over to Lance." Hunk said, and the other paladins nodded and agreed behind him. "So, here's breakfast, and we're going to come and wait with you." 

Keith stood silent for a moment, feeling a little overwhelmed by just how much he loved his other teammates. It was a small gesture, to make him breakfast and come wait with him, but it reminded Keith again that he wasn't in this alone. 

"Thanks," Keith said a small smile forming on his face. 

"No problem," Pidge replied with an easy grin. 

"Let go wait for Lance," Shiro said, leading the way out of the room. 

The rest of the paladins followed. 

___________________

 

Lance suddenly felt himself stumble forward, enough to wake Lance out of the daze the the pod left him in. He was out, the tiny chamber still steaming behind him as it's glass casing closed again to sanitize itself to be used later. Lance stumbled for a moment, his legs had gone unused for five days in the pod. His arms stretched out for something to balance him and his eyes fought to focus before he was caught and brought in close. 

Before he could ask who it was, a kiss was being pressed on his cheek and, "Hey partner," was being mumbled fondly into his hair. He recognized Keith's voice anywhere. 

Lance grinned tiredly, and his eyes finally focused enough to see the seams of Keith's jacket and the rest of the team crowded around them. Hunk rubbed a firm hand up Lance's arm, bringing some sensation back into it. 

He had missed them. 

"How are you feeling, Lance?" Pidge asked, their voice was warm. 

"Good, a little sore and tired, but good." 

Keith stepped back, allowing Lance to support his own weight and actually greet his other friends. 

Hunk swept him up in a tight hug, lifting Lance's feet off the ground, telling him how much the team had missed him. 

Allura was next, she also hugged him, not as tight as Hunk, but enough that he knew she was genuine. 

Coran was right after, giving his a quick squeeze and an affection word before handing him off to Pidge and Shiro.

Pidge and Shiro brought him in for a half hug. Shiro nonchalantly trying to inspect him for the off chance of unhealed wounds. 

Lance snorted and brushed Shiro off. He felt fine, if maybe a little dizzy.

"Damn, you guys must have missed me," Lance laughed. 

Hunk shook his head in response, cutting a glance to Keith. 

"Man you have no idea." 

They spent the rest of the day catching Lance up on what had happened in the past five days he had been out, and even what had happened when he was kidnapped. It turned out many of Lance's memories were foggy because of the drug he had been slipped, so having Keith explain step by step what had happened helped put jog his memory. 

It was horrifying if Lance was honest. He almost wished they hadn't reminded him of the terrifying hours he spent in agony, alone and fearful. He didn't let it show, keeping his face carefully neutral when they reminded him of his injuries. 

Despite this, Keith seemed to sense his discomfort. 

"Lance has had a long day," Keith said, helping Lance up from his seated position. "He needs rest."

It put an effective end to the question and answer that the team had going, which although it helped Lance remember, he was grateful for Keith's intervention. Things were getting a little bit much for him. Especially because he was fresh out of the healing pod. 

The team didn't protest as Keith protectively herded Lance down the halls to their shared bunk. 

As soon as they were in the room Lance stumbled over to the bed and sat down heavily. He was only in his twenties, when the hell had he gotten so achy and tired? Last time he got out of the pod he felt fine after a couple of minutes and a meal. Now he just felt exhausted. 

Keith hovered around Lance, trying to get a read on how he was feeling. 

"Do you want help out of your clothes?" Keith finally asked, and Lance nodded half from pure exhaustion, half just because he liked it when Keith coddled him a little. 

Keith took his time, gently taking off Lance's jacket and his shirt, before removing his shoes and helping him shimmy out of his pants. He pressed soft kisses on Lance's mouth as he worked and Lance could only endure the wave after wave of pure affection that he felt for Keith.

He couldn't imagine how Keith had felt when he was in the pod healing, but the way that Keith was treating him now acting almost reverent as he curled up next to Lance in bed and stroked his hair, gave Lance a good approximation. Lance let his eyes slip shut. 

They laid in silence for a couple minutes, just their breathing and the occasional shift in positioning, until a wet sniffle broke the silence. Lance's eyes shot open to find Keith's face buried in his hands, quiet sobs now wracking his body. 

"Keith, what's wrong?" Lance asked, gently pulling away Keith's hands from his face to see tears dripping down his ruddy cheeks. Lance was suddenly acutely aware of how young they were, they were only in their twenties, the hardships they had to face far outweighed their years.

"I was," Keith hiccuped, and a few harsh breaths wracked his body. Lance waited patiently, holding Keith's hands in his. 

"I was so damn scared," Keith whispered, his voice thick. "That you had died, or we wouldn't be able to save you, or that the drug you had ingested was lethal."

Lance nodded and brushed a stray tear off of Keith's cheek. "I'm okay now, don't worry. You're okay too, we're safe. You made it in time and now I'm all healed up. Don't worry."

He continued to whisper reassurances to Keith until the tears stopped. 

Lance hoped that would be enough the calm Keith, it was hard to see the other man so shaken. It was so out of character for him. 

Keith nodded, taking deep breaths in an attempt to wind down, and Lance relaxed again. He knew Keith would be okay. 

"I was scared too," Lance said, laughing a little bit. Keith managed a weak chuckle. 

"But I knew you guys would come, I wasn't scared so much for me rather than Blue and the castle." Lance explained, his voice turning more serious. Keith nodded from beside him. As they had grown, they both come to accept that Voltron was more important than any individual. It came with the territory. 

"I knew you would take care of me," Lance said, reaching out his hand to clench Keith's. "That's the reason I was able to fight for so long. I knew you would come, and you would make sure it would be okay." 

Lance had never trusted anyone more than he had Keith, he knew his partner would be right there when he needed him. Keith always had been, even when they had first started out.

"I love you." Keith said, it was soft but packed with emotion. 

Lance kissed Keith, "I love you too."

"Goodnight, Keith." 

 

 

"Goodnight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!!! feel free to hit me up on tumblr im ham-omelet and i'm happy to talk to you whenever pretty much haha pls talk future fic ideas with me

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading!!!!!!! leave comments and kudos they help me Feel Validated !!!


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